The Strong Don't Cry
by Saya Moonshadow
Summary: Because tears are for the weak. Zaktan character study thing.


**Zaktan piece, coming up. I actually wrote this around April of last year, so forgive me if it's a little bad XD**

**Disclaimer: Me Grimlock, BADASS! You not! But me Grimlock not own **_**Bionicle**_** neither D:**

**Summary: Because tears are for the weak. Zaktan character study thing.**

**The Strong Don't Cry  
By: Saya Moonshadow**

It was his personal mantra, _the strong don't cry_. Because tears are for the weak. Crying let the enemy know that they'd gotten to you, let them into your defenses even further. Crying only led to more hurt ultimately, and it was honestly better if it was never done.

And so he never cried. Not even when they whipped and beat him and did other horrible, unspeakable things to him did tears fall from his eyes. Not even when they buried under discarded rubble in the mine and left him there for three days and nights did he cry.

Crying was a weakness.

And Zaktan was not weak.

Sometimes, he had to remind himself of this, when he saw yet another friend die at the cruel hands of the slave drivers. They all screamed and begged for mercy, all wanting to live more than anything. The slave drivers, however, were abominations, evil to the core. Causing pain was their pleasure.

It was like watching a bad horror film.

One minute you'd be standing by your friend, working; the next, they were all over the two of you, whipping, clawing, beating, until one or both of you went down.

This had happened to Zaktan several times. It was like the slave drivers knew when he had acquired a friend, no matter how secret he kept them. Even if he just had his eye on them, just _watched_ them, they always seemed to know. And his friend would be overwhelmed and killed in the most unspeakable way possible the very next day.

Those who had died were left to rot. No time to bury them; there was work to be done. Protodermis and jewels and the like to be mined. Slaves to whip. Slaves to beat. Slaves to bully.

Slaves to _kill_.

Zaktan had been called many things in his life. Each and every single one broke his heart at first, but then it hardened to the hatred. The punishment. It hardened to his life.

Freak.

Loser.

Moron.

Slave.

Worthless.

Toy.

Plaything.

_Monster._

He was the pride of Le-Zakaz, their deadliest warrior. But they didn't know that. All they saw was the sheer amount of valuables he was able to dig up in a day, and they calculated how much it could be sold for.

It hurt. It hurt seeing his hard work squandered away like that. Knowing that he had no other purpose. He repeated his mantra, that _the strong do not cry_, under his breath whenever this happened, and they'd laugh and hit him harder.

The last time he was beaten, he'd finally broken. It was too much. He laid there on the cold hard ground and sobbed, red eyes leaking tears like a river. He screamed as the whip cracked down on his already scarred and bleeding back.

"So, what do you want, Master Zaktan?" the slave driver taunted him, dancing around him in a circle.

"I WANT TO DIE!" Zaktan screamed back, thrashing about, the restraints holding him to the ground straining against his body. "I WANT TO DIE!"

"Too bad!" his attacker laughed, and his blood flowed.

The strong don't cry. Because tears are for the weak, and the weak only. Strong people know how to keep their emotions in check, and never _ever_ cave in.

So he must have been weak. Because he was still laying there, hours after his beating, sobbing his heart out. His back...by now, it must have resembled something akin to a raw Kavinika steak. This beating...it was worse than the others.

So much worse, it had broken his private oath.

It had made him cry.

_The strong don't cry._

_The strong don't cry._

_The strong don't cry._

_The strong don't cry._

_The strong don't cry._

Because tears are for the weak. Only the weak cried, and Zaktan was weak.

He cried and cried and cried.

X x X

**END.**

X x X

**AN: Done D: Sorry Zaktan, you're just so much fun to torture!**

**The family situation is slightly remedied, and my dad and I seem to have reached some sort of truce, although we're not exactly talking to each other right now. Stupid family drama...thanks to all who expressed their concern though, I love you all. (:**

**Review, please!**


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